


Wonders

by MetgalaStyles



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bottom Louis, Bus, Elemental Magic, Hospitals, M/M, Magic, Secrets, Top Harry, Water
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-03-01
Packaged: 2019-10-26 07:06:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17741204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MetgalaStyles/pseuds/MetgalaStyles
Summary: When someone who does not believe in the impossible meets someone who should be the impossible himself





	1. Chapter 1

Everything is mystery. Everything is uncertain. Nothing is as it seems. 

Sentences like these don't make sense to Louis. What would mysteries be, anyway? So much was discovered and can be explained in his world. Scientists have answers to seemingly everything; even to how there could be a lack of existence. He thinks of mysteries as stories, that parents told their children to keep their creativity alive until they would be forced to become unimaginative beings in a more and more automated world where uniqueness is deemed dumb and unnecessary. 

The only mysteries he can think of are the times he's with his sisters. They complain about bobby pins and hair ties being lost 'in the void', never to be found. He would bet his savings even scientists can't explain where that stuff goes.  
But, on the contrary, he couldn't be bothered. Long has he accepted the fact that he cannot waste his time daydreaming, he has to keep it up to not fall behind his peers. 

So there he is, typing away on his computer keyboard, trying to wrap up his monthly finance report before he has to clock out in a few minutes. He takes little breaks and switches up the keyboard for a calculator and a folder with dozens of papers that have been collected over the last weeks. 

A rather boring job, but he can't make a living as an actor, as a daydreamer. He has to make sure he has money to support himself as well as his family, so accounting and business management seemed rather logic choices of career paths. 

The room he is in is as uncreative as the work he has to do: A light brown desk with some stains and scratches on its surface, a dark blue carpet of which he is sure only sees a vacuum once a month, some open front shelves with hundreds of folders and books, stray sheets of paper, two black chairs that look comfortable but when one takes a seat realizes how uncomfortable they are, and a long window on his left. 

He sighs inwardly and resumes to work -putting numbers in the calculator, typing down the results- for a while before a final glance at clock show him he is free to go for today. 

Louis stuffs his bottle and his lunch leftovers into his black rucksack, shouldering it and exiting the building. He takes the tube home, subconsciously watching the fellow passengers while he waits for his station. He gets off and continues walking, enjoying the little warmth the sun rays give him at the beginning of spring. 

Some birds fly around already, building their nests, getting ready for their little ones to hatch. 

Oh, and Louis? He gets a little distracted and nearly trips over the sidewalk, stumbling a few steps before regaining his composure. He looks around and blushes when he sees a rather good looking man a few meters in front of him looking his way. Of course he would embarrass himself in front of a handsome guy. His luck. 

He ducks his head down a bit, and walks, past the man and down the sidewalk towards his apartment building. 

Louis fumbles the keys out, entering the cold flat. As nice as the temperature is outside, his flat is always freezing. The heating works, but he has to pay that extra at the end of a quarter so he saves up as much as he can. He turns up the heat, humming when the radiator emits warmth already. 

Changing out of his slacks and plain button up, he takes a quick shower, before taking his mobile into his hands and dialling the familiar number, waiting for the dull beeps to turn into the voice of his sibling.  
"Louis, so nice to hear from ya," she greets excitedly, causing Louis to smile. 

"Hi, Lottie. How are you and the twins?" 

"Which set," she chuckles. "All are fine, Doris and Ernest were ecstatic when they saw their early birthday presents from you. Haven't taken those shoes off ever since." 

"That's so cute, give them a big hug from me, yeah? And the others as well." 

"Will do. Oh and Phoebe needs help with some project for her accounting class for the end of the year. I told her you'd help." 

Louis chuckles and nods a bit. "Sure, I'll do that. Didn't study that stuff for nothing, did I?" 

"True, true. And how are you, big brother? Haven;t heard from you in a week?" 

"I call every week once, stop pretending I've gone missing. I'm alright, tough. Not much has happened. But I think my boss has been dropping hints at either a promotion or a raise," he smiles. He could use extra cash, and a promotion after only working there for eight months would be amazing. Either way, he'd be happy if his boss would not be playing any tricks. 

"That's amazing, Lou. i really hope you get that. I know you have what it takes," Lottie squeaks. 

"Thanks again, Lottie."

The siblings kept talking for a while, even when halfway through the call the youngest siblings interrupted to speak to their big brother. 

After almost one hour Louis ends the call, and plugs his phone in. 

Hours after work are slow most days, and today is no exception. But he makes the best of it. Well, if one counts watching television and eating pancakes for dinner as 'the best of it'. 

\- - 

The days, the weeks rush by, the routine the same. Until it wasn't. 

His mum went to the hospital for a normal check up, and now he is there twice a week minimum, long phone calls every day he's not there with her, for her. 

He's worried. Sure, his sisters, aunts and grandparents try to keep everything going as good as they can, but they are also affected by the sudden change. 

Just like now -sitting next to his mum's hospital bed, watching some news- have his past weeks been. Hard on his psyche, hard on his spirit. But he has to power though, can't let the worries drown his mind. 

He brings flowers every day -his mother's favorites- and snacks. Every other day his younger siblings are there as well, snuggling up to the kind woman who raised them and now needs all the love she can get. They cuddle her like hugs could make it better, make the pain disappear.  
Louis knows better, but he won't hurt them with the truth. they are smart, at some point they will be old enough to learn about their mothers condition. But not now. 

Hopefully it will all be better soon.  
But until now, he has to believe in mysteries - wonders even. 

Believe his mother will wake up one day, without the cancer in her body. Believe she will go home and everything will go back to normal again, even if that means he has to go back to his boring routine he used to have. 

Today isn't any different. He just sits next to her in the chair, holding her hand gently in his. He is proud to be a mummy's boy, but now he is hurt even more just because of it. But he will stay strong, for his family. 

"Did you know, I have a new nurse: Very nice lad, very gentle as well. I have been through a few nurses and nobody places my IV or takes blood as careful as he does," Johanna gushes, causing Louis to smile. 

"That's amazing mum. So you won't complain about the nurses anymore?," he teases, a grin still on his lips. 

"Oh please, I have to have more than one nurse. So I'm afraid you will still have to listen to me complain. But a little less," she jokes, squeezing her son's hand gently. 

It is something that grabbed Louis' attention. Her grip, her hugs, everything about her is weaker, strength dwindling slowly but surely. 

He can't think too much about it, tough. When all this is over and his mum is home again he will only have bad memories. And he will not let his psyche play this horrid trick on him. 

"At least something," Louis sighs overly exaggerated. 

"He should be here any minute now, he has to bring me lunch," Johanna smiles. "Believe me, he is the perfect gentleman."

"Is the lunch I brought not enough?," Louis questions, and his mother raises her brow at that. 

"You mean the sunflower seeds and the cinnamon roll are something you consider as lunch?" 

"Well, no, but... Dunno." 

Johanna looks at him and grins, her eyes crinkling at the edges. "Don't worry darling, I'm just joking around with you. I really need a good lunch though, Harold said I need extra dessert to keep the strength up," she giggles a bit. "I bet he saw me eyeing the puddings one time too many." 

"And who is the child now?," Louis asks, smiling at his mother's attics. She's always been a positive and cheerful one. That's where Louis gets those character traits from as well. 

"Let me be, I'm your mother." 

The two bicker for a bit until a gentle but determined knock interrupts their giggle fit. Johanna calls a quick 'come in' before the door opens again. 

Louis looks there as well when his mother carefully elbows him into the side and nods towards the door. "Hello Harry, my darling, how are you?," she asks, sitting up in her bed.  
The man wheels in a little cart with a tray of food on top and some small shelves in the bottom. "I'm doing fine, Johanna. And how about yourself? Have you kept the eggs and toast down," the man questions, taking the tray from the cart and putting it on the nightstand. 

"I did, yeah. And I ate some sunflower seeds my sun brought as well," she smiles. 

"That's amazing. Someone is on the road to recovery now, I think," he comments and takes the chart at the foot of the bed, writing something down. 

"And how is the family? Got some drawings from the smallest ones again?" 

Jay and the nurse talk, and all Louis can do is stare. The handsome man is his mother's nurse. Smart, handsome and gentle. The face seems familiar, but he can't recall it. Maybe someone who he saw back at university. Or he used to be one of the passengers he watches on the tube. 

"And that's your son, Louis was it?" The question causes Louis to snap out of his thoughts and look at the man only to nod slightly. 

"Yeah." 

"And Harold, here, told me a while ago he is still on the market if you know what I mean," Jay comments while wiggling her brows. 

Louis clears his throat and blushes a bit. "Thanks mum, but I think I can find myself a boyfriend if I wanted to. At the moment I just wanna make sure you're okay." 

"Uh, I'm top priority. I'm honoured," Johanna chuckles. 

"Always, mum." 

Johanna looks back at the nurse, Harry, and smiles. "Thank you for bringing lunch over."

"Oh, you're very welcome Johanna. But I think you forgot something," he says and goes back to his little cart, opening the first shelve. "I couldn't forget about these now, could I?" 

the man gently puts down two small trifles next to the lunch food as well. "Raspberry and strawberry. If someone comes in, tell them your doctor needed you to have more sugary stuff," he winks and closes the shelve up again. 

"Oh, you're such a sweetheart. Thank you so much Harold." 

The man simply smiles and waves the two goodbye, takes his little cart and exits the room again. 

"I told you he's very nice." 

"I know mum. You also told me -in front of him- that I'm single."

"Oh but darling, I've talked about you almost every day. He knew from like the fourth day that my oldest son is single," she giggles and takes her tray of food, starting to eat. 

\- - 

He spends a lot of his time in hospital now. His mother's health going back to bad causes him to be anxious every time he is away a day or more.  
Currently he's in the hospital's garden, patients and relatives, friends and nurses milling around, some pushing wheelchairs, some just sitting and talking.  
Louis is different from most of them. He is there alone, on the wooden bench outside of a hospital. The one person, who never believed in wonders, who now desperately wants one to happen and save his mother. 

He just stares ahead, blinking only when necessary, lost in a sea of thoughts. He ignores whoever sits down next to him, not in the mood to talk or socialize. 

"You know, your mum is worried where you are. I get you haven't been up there today?" 

He just shakes his head no. "I don't wanna see her like this. I-I love her but I can't bear to see her this... this...“ 

"Sick?" 

Again, the only thing Louis can do is nod. 

"You know, I had an uncle. He passed years ago. Cancer got him as well. I always visited him, until he had to go to the hospital every day. He died some weeks after that, and I haven't visited him before he did. I remember him as a somewhat healthy looking old man, like he used to be for me. But sometimes I do regret not visiting him again. I don't and I won't know if he wanted me to. And that's worse than seeing someone you love in a sick state. At least that's what I think." 

"Why are you telling me this," Louis asks quietly, staring at the grass. 

"Because I'd rather your mother sees you and is happier than you regret not visiting her in case something fatal happens." 

"Wow, you're really fucking bad at cheering me up." 

"I didn't come here to cheer you up. I came here to tell you this little story and get you in there. Your mum requested some board games and I bet you she's ready to bet you in all of them. Just go up there. I gave her a pretty scarf for her head, so you won't see her bald." And with that the nurse gets up, leaving Louis to look after him. 

The man sighs. Sure, he's scared of the state his mother is in. But could he live with the guilt of not visiting her out of fear? 

He pushes himself up and makes his way into the building, getting to the floor his mother's room is located and hesitantly knocks on the door. 

He hears a gentle 'come in' and opens the door, entering the room and sitting down next to his mother. The flowery scarf is tied around her head and she smiles, a reassuring smile only mothers can give. "I'm so happy you got here today, darling." She says and pulls her son into a bear hug; weak, but still. 

"Sorry I'm late mum. Got caught up."

Johanna chuckles and leans over, pulling a games box out of her nightstand. "I'm gonna beat your ass, darling."

"Oh, really? I wanna see you try," Louis grins and helps his mother set up the first game. 

Half an hour and several quiet curses later the door opens slowly, revealing Johanna's favourite nurse. 

"Hello Johanna. Oh, Louis. Nice to meet you. How are you two?" 

Louis looks at him. So he's really pretending to meet him for the first time today? Alright. 

After the nurse exits the room again with a bit of Johanna's blood in a bag, the mother and son team resumes to playing board games until later. Just before 6 o'clock Louis excuses himself and exits the room. He needs some coffee. Watered down and now very tasty, but something bitter and caffeinated to keep him awake for a while longer. 

"Told you that going there would be a good idea." 

Louis head snaps up from where he was focusing on the cup of coffee he was balancing. The taller man smiles, his white hospital clothes reminding Louis that he, in fact, is at a hospital, the one where his mum could find her end. 

"I never said you weren't right." 

Harry chuckles quietly. Only little patients were in the hallways now with it being dinner time. 

"Can I ask you something," Louis questions after a few seconds of silence. After seeing the swift nod from the nurse he clears his throat. "When your uncle was," he stops shortly, "you know, at his end, did you start believing in the impossible? Like, wonders, and this kind of stuff?" 

Harry smiles and sits down in one of the chairs against the wall, motioning to the empty seat next to him. So Louis sits down, leaving a respectful space in between them. "So?"

"I guess I did. I mean I have been since I was a child. My mother used to show me all kinds of things to make sure I grew up, believing in the impossible. I however knew that even the biggest wonders couldn't save my uncle." Louis shoulders sag. So his mum has no chance? 

"But, he was very sick. Not even chemo helped. Nothing did, we all knew that nothing, and not even a wonder would magically heal him."

Louis nods. Great. Why did he even ask? That guy does nothing but make him sad anyway. 

"Stop looking so sad. Your mother is in a way better shape than my uncle was. I'm positive she will get through this all. Just gotta believe in something impossible, you know," Harry exclaims, smiling slightly. 

Louis nods. "In a twisted way that sad talk about your dead uncle cheers me up. Sorry 'bout that." 

"It’s okay. In a way he always wanted to cheep people up, so he still does it even now. That makes me happy as well." 

Louis smiles a bit. "So you're, what 20, and still believe in the wonders and impossible things your mum told you?" 

"I'm actually 24. And I do. I get a little reminder every day, so I remember what I believed in growing up," Harry chuckles. 

"And what reminders?"  
"Oh, you know. Little things." 

\- - 

There wasn’t much he could do, other than hope, pray and mentally threaten nurses and doctors. Louis has done everything he can. He brings his little siblings to the hospital at least twice a week now, takes may pictures of all of them together and hopes they won’t be the last. 

He finds himself in an all too familiar situation again: Sitting on a wooden bench in the hospital garden, watching others go by. 

“Stop being so sad all the time, you bring everybody around you down.”  
Louis doesn’t spare a glance at Harry who sits down next to the man, why would he? “My mum is bald and may be dying and you’re telling me to lighten the fuck up? Should I write a sonnet about it? An opera in two parts,” Louis seethes. 

“An opera would be a little much, wouldn’t you think?”

Louis just grumbles an answer, not caring about the conversation anymore. 

“I actually came out here to take you somewhere.”  
“I told you a while ago I am not interested in any kind of relationship until my mother is better.” 

“I never said it would be a date. Consider it...a distraction from the world you currently are in.” With that, the nurse gets up and dusts off his white pants. “C’mon, we have to walk a bit first.”

Louis stares at the man who just starts walking ahead without waiting up on him. With a defeated sigh the smaller man gets up as well and follows Harry, trying to catch up to him. “Where are we going?” 

“The two of us will catch a bus.”  
“A bus,” Louis deadpans. “Where the hell are you taking me?”

“Somewhere you will forget for a while. And no, I will not drug you in a dark ally and leave you behind,” Harry states monotonously. 

“Sounds very assuring, thank you,” Louis mutters under his breath.  
The two men walk in silence until they arrive at the small bus stop a few meters away from the hospital grounds just when a bus arrives. Louis and Harry get on, sitting down in one of the back rows, upper arms pressing softly against one another. 

“And where are you taking me?”  
“Somewhere nice; Do me a favour and close your eyes when you hear like a bell chime please.”

“So you are going to drug me,” Louis states as a matter of fact.  
“No, I will not. Just do it. Trust the medical expert here.” 

Muttering profanities under his breath Louis goes to look out of the window. He always hates busses because they are so much slower when traffic is plenty on the streets. But then again, in the Tube all he can look at is fellow passengers, not nature and buildings.  
A soft chime breaks him out of his thoughts and he sighs, slowly closing his eyes. Hey, what could go wrong; Other than the bus suddenly crashing?

A bright white light flashes him for a brief moment, not longer than the blink of an eye. So he does what every human does: squeeze his eyes shut more than usual, hoping nothing bad happens. 

“You can open your eyes again,” says Harry next to him. Louis does so and looks at the man, frowning. “When did you change? And, how did you change so fucking fast?”

The man next to him was not wearing the white hospital scrubs anymore, but black slacks paired with a white button up and a black coat. Louis looks around the bus, and notices they were the only people on it. The elderly gentleman who sat close to the bus driver was gone. But how, the bus did not stop? Did the man jump out? 

As if he read his thought, Harry answers with a simple: “Don’t worry, he is alright”. 

The mechanical voice announcing next station ‘Albertinums Cross’ distracts him again. Since when is that a bus station? As long as he can remember there is no such station, logically the next station was Ruthford Street, close to a market place in town. 

“That’s our stop. Come on, Louis.” 

With that, Harry gets up and to the front of the bus, so Louis follows. “Where are we, what the hell are you planning,” Louis grumbles, stumbling a little when the bus breaks a little abruptly and causes him to bump into the other man’s back. But he does not budge a centimetre. 

“Told you I would distract you.”

The doors open and Harry drags a pissed and confused Louis into the open air, where the latter looks around for the first time since he had to close his eyes.

Nothing looks like home, like something he knows. The trees are a dark green; in fact all plants are the same colour. Few people milling around, some of them are talking. None of them look at the pair for long, not even the ducks that waddle around them do something to acknowledge their existence. 

“Where in the world are we, Harry,” Louis nearly screams, fear seeping into his bones. What if that guy is in fact a serial killer and plans on murdering him and hiding his body afterwards?

“Stop asking so much. We are still in town, just a different dimension of it I suppose.”  
“A different fucking what now?” 

“Ok, so, a little heads up. We are on the same planet still, just a different dimension. In fact, we are at the exact same spot where the bus stop Ruthford street would be,” the taller man states.

“Wait. That’s not true. There should be a church on the other side of that road and not a fucking English garden.” 

“It’s a Japanese garden actually. However, like I said, we are in a different dimension. Same place, different surroundings. In this dimension, things work a little different than what you know.”

“This has to be a dream, you’re psycho,” Louis screeches, running his hands trough his hair, tugging on some strands in the process. 

“It’t not a dream. You’re in my dimension now, where I was born and raised more that half of my life.”

“I don’t believe you. Everything seems normal, so you just did something weird to get me to another bus station,” Louis huffs angrily. 

“No,” Harry hums, “I did not. It’s a different dimension; things work differently here that in yours. I'm not sure how familiar you are with the lunar cycle, but our calendar here is based on it. Every month starts with a new moon, just like other lunar calendars do. We have 12 Months with 30 days each, so we are behind the date you'd know from your dimension. Our seasons, however, are the quite the opposite."

"What do you mean,. the opposite? It's warm." 

"I know, we have a spell on this area because of the park. if you look further down the street you see snow," Harry says and begins walking towards the Japanese garden across the street, forcing Louis to follow so he doesn't get lost in these unfamiliar surroundings. 

"It's the beginning of winter here, and start of summer in your world. But at lease the time is always the same: if it's 6PM at yours, it is here as well," Harry chuckles, looking at the other man. Louis can't laugh. He looks around, confused and a bit amazed. 

He has no idea how this can be possible. It just can't be, it's irrational. 

"So....people live here," Louis asks quietly. 

"Yeah," Harry confirms with a nod, "for free of course."

"For free? How's that even possible." 

"We have magic. We could just snap our fingers and we'd be millionaires. The concept of money does not work and apply here. We, however, have the rule everyone has to have a life outside of this dimension in yours, with a job and salary to be allowed to have property here."

"oh..so that means, anyone could come here?

Harry chuckles again and shakes his head. "No, not everyone can come here. You have to have magic abilities.."

"But I don't have them and yet here I am with you," Louis exclaims. Harry hums quietly and keeps walking, staying on the brown gravel pathway that leads through the gardens. 

"So, do people get sick here or just in our world?" 

"Well... the getting sick part is actually only in your world. All other dimensions that exist have the magic elements in them, only yours doesn't."

"Wait, there's more," Louis screeches. This is too much. He's got to be in some kind of massive prank. 

"Yeah, we go on holidays there rather often. My favourite would be the one where there is no air or gravity. It's like being in space," Harry smiles and puts his hands in the pocket of his black coat. 

"What? No air? How do you guys brea- magic, right?" 

"yup," Harry mutters and plops the 'p' a little. "There's five dimensions on this earth. Basically, they are the same. Same time, same spaces that just are used differently depending on the dimension one happens to be in."

"So there's like, no differences?" 

"Oh, there are. You see, you know of the four elements: water, fire, air and earth. But magic is the fifth element. And in each of the dimensions, one element is missing. In your's it's the magic. In mine-" 

"It's not air that's missing. I breath. And not earth. So it's got to be water, right?" 

"Think again. How would there be snow if there is no water," Harry grins. "We, Louis, are missing the element of fire. We have no lightning that could somehow start a fire, lighters from your world or any other world do not work." 

"Wait, so you don't have energy, like electricity. How do you live," Louis exclaims, finally catching up to the man after walking behind him a while. 

"We have electricity. We just use sun and water as source. You don't need fire to make windmills and solar panels. We are a rather clean dimension. Other dimensions use human technology to burn coal and mine fossil fuels, burn them and therefore pollute the air. We use electric cars powered by solar energy." 

"So," Louis starts, "your dimension is what humanity finally aspires?" 

"Kinda. Pretty cool, isn't it?" 

Louis nods slowly, looking around. Birds chirping in the old willow trees that line up against the small stream of water that runs through the Japanese garden. The dark green grass gently says in the wind - if it would be cut short he wouldn't be able to see that.

"And how would we get back to my dimension," Louis asks slowly. 

"By bus, just like we got here," Harry grins. "Why, you wanna go back already? But you have only seen the station and the park."

"No, I...I don't know. I guess, I'm just a bit overwhelmed."

"Right, should've thought about that as a nurse. Whatever. Wanna eat something?" 

"Yeah, sure." Harry nods and keeps walking until the two reach a restaurant in the middle of the park. Tables are scattered around outside the building, garlands and flowerpots making the atmosphere rather homey. 

"I thought you could snap your finger and get food just like you could get money." 

"We can, but there are special schools actually. Like, uh, culinary schools for magicians. They perfect the art of putting food on the tables with help of magic." Harry explains, sitting down at a table next to a flowerpot with beautiful light pink flowers. 

"Do you pay for that?"  
"No, like I said the concept of money doesn't apply here. But once someone gets into one of these they have certain things they have to do in your dimension. Like voluntary work for the whole time in the culinary field. Even if it's only washing dishes at a restaurant."

"oh, okay... So what do they serve here? Like, Italian food and stuff," Louis asks as he looks around. He's searching for the menus that usually are at tables. But here: nothing, no menus set up on any table.

"You can get whatever you want. They can make anything."

"really? Like, anything I want?" 

Harry nods, leaning back in the chair. "Yeah, you can get anything you want, a certain brand of wine, a special bread, allergy friendly dishes, easy homemade things."

"Hello Harry, how are you?" The new voice startles Louis for a second, he did not see a good looking man approaching their table. "Hello Liam, same old same old. And how are you doing mate?" 

The man, Liam, is a rather good looking guy: broad chest and shoulders, tall, a little scruff around the chin but soft looking hair and eyes. He clearly is attractive, Louis cannot deny that, but he is not his type. 

"Pretty good myself. Finally got that apprenticeship at a vet that I needed to go to University," the other man chuckles. 

"Really? Congrats mate."

Louis looks back and forth between the man, suddenly feeling a little left out. Sure, he didn't want to be here, but the least Harry can do is give him attention now that he is here. 

"And you're still working as a nurse I guess," that Liam guy chuckles and Harry nods. "Yeah, last semester, though, then I'm done with med school," the latter grins. 

"Getting the fancy degree now."

"Always." 

The two men bicker, throwing sassy remarks and questions back and forth; all while Louis dwindles his thumbs, bored and annoyed that Harry doesn't give him attention. Louis looks around, successfully blocking out the two voices next to him. 

This part of the world sure is a pretty sight. Evergreen grass and trees in the park, birds of all colours and kinds flying around, and even the people are better-looking in this dimension. 

He curiously watches as a man and a toddler walk around, the man holding the baby's hand softly and crouching down to the side a bit to get a safer and more comfortable hold. 

"louis? Liam asked you what you want to eat?" 

"Huh? Oh," Louis mumbles, refocusing on the two men in his company, "How about some Chicken and Waffles?"

Liam nods and makes a little note of it on the paper he brought along, and disappears into the restaurant. 

"Your mind seems a little occupied, a penny for your thoughts?" 

The man just shrugs, glancing back to the man and child only to see they're long gone. "Was just thinking how everyone in this world seems to be good looking." 

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Louis looks at Harry again, a slight blush forming on his cheeks. He did certainly not mean to say it this direct, but oh well. "I-I didn't.. like.."

Harry merely chuckles and shakes his head. "I'm just teasing you, Louis. It's alright." 

"Oh.. Thank you."

Merely two minutes later -after a rather awkward silence- Liam appears again, gracefully balancing two white platters with food, which he sets down in front of the two. "Here you go. Enjoy your meal," he smiles and retreats. 

Louis looks down at his plate. Looks simple enough.  
Harry and him start eating and Louis almost groans at the taste. This meal has got to be the best chicken and waffles he's ever eaten in his lifetime. 

Harry, who opted for original Japanese ramen looks at him and smiles. "Told you the chefs have training like they went to culinary school."

Louis nods dumbly. "And that Liam guy...", he trails off. 

"We grew up here together. He's gonna be a veterinarian and I'm gonna be a doctor," Harry grins. "Don't worry, he has a boyfriend." 

The last remark causes Harry to blush and look at his almost empty platter. "I-uh- wasn't thinking like that, you know."

The other man hums and continues eating. "Sure you weren't." 

The two eat in silence until they are finished - according to Louis it would be awkward silence, but apparently Harry doesn't seem to mind. 

"you done," Harry asks, and after Louis gives him a little nod as answer the two men get up and start walking through the scenery again. 

"So, you're going to be a doctor?"

the taller lad smiles and nods. "Yeah, I have like four months of university and nursing left, then I take my official tests in your world at a med school and if I pass I am qualified as a doctor."

"that's....cool. So, do you, like, practice with magic then?"

"Oh no, we learn it here in my dimension just like you would in yours. Proper surgeries and all, no magic involved here. We have parts, of course, that are specified on practicing with magic, but those parts are rather sparse compared to the normal elements."  
"Wait, so in all your studies you have to do the same shit med students have to do, plus you have to do the magic parts as well," Louis asks, baffled. He's heard how hard med school is, so he did have respect for that.

"Yeah, but the magic part is really easy. They give us like anatomically correct models out of eco-friendly materials and we practice at home or at university. Rather fun, that is. When you try and practice how to put back together a broken bone and the arm just flops around. It's like that child's game, really. If you do something wrong, the faux-body reacts my twitching, opening the eyes or something like that."

"That's fucking horrifying," Louis mutters. "Imagine you're doing a surgery like a normal person and the leg just twitches and you cut something that's important. That could kill people. 

"Actually, it prepares us for the worst cases, like a patient waking up during the surgery. We know how to keep a steady hand," Harry chuckles, but Louis does not feel like joining. 

"Creepy," he mutters and lets his eyes wander around the garden. Between the flowers, bushes and trees he spots a small playground - the little girl and the man he saw before playing on the swings. "But is it like a life size body you practice on or..."

"Yeah, it looks like a sleeping guy, with all the things a man has." 

"Like that-" "has a dick, yeah. A rather ugly one, at that," Harry interrupts giggling. 

"And, are there special surgeries you wouldn't be able to do in my world?"  
"I mean, there are a few, but you wouldn't believe me if I told you. So I'll just keep quiet for now," he smiles, stuffing his hands back into his coat pockets. 

Louis nods, huffing quietly. How dare Harry bring him here, give him so much info and then don't answer this one question. Just rude. 

"We should go back, it's almost 3 o'clock," Harry mentions and Louis nods.  
"Do we go back the same way we came?"

"yup." 

that's how they end up in a bus again, closing their eyes when they hear a little chime." 

"Next stop Ruthford Street.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took me a while to get this one done but here it is. Enjoy!

Louis has been thinking about the things Harry has shown and told him for days, can't get it out of his head how there is just four more dimensions coexisting to his own; dimensions where magic is real and a daily thing.

He just stares at the ceiling of his bedroom, wondering whether he should bring his mother dinner tomorrow or just call and go visit her on the upcoming weekend.  
Tomorrow would be Thursday, so that's alright. He only has statistics and numbers to look at tomorrow, but hours upon hours of staring at numbers can make one go mad. He'll decide tomorrow.

\----------

It's Saturday and after picking up some pretty flowers Louis takes the bus to the hospital, smiling when he sees his mother sleeping peacefully in her room. He puts the flowers in the porcelain vase that has been in its spot on the window sill ever since his mum was put into this room.

He sits down on the uncomfortable plastic chair and closes his eyes, sighing gently. He lets his mind wander over all the possible outcomes of this situation, plays everything out in his mind.

"you really stare a lot when you think, you know that?"

Louis jumps and looks towards the man in scrubs."Was just thinking about this whole situation," Louis mutters and runs a hand through his hair. "Thinking about the what if's."

"it's not healthy to think so much about that, you know, not mentally, at least. "

Louis sighs and nods, looking back at his mother's sleeping figure. The scarf is loosely tied around her head, knot in the front. "She looks like normal, just.."

"Bald. Don't worry, she doesn't have any pain at the moment., I upped the pain killers before she went to sleep. She's gonna be out for a while."

"Why," Louis asks, worried. Why would his mother not wake up for a while?

"Because she hasn't had a good night's sleep. She had a lot of pain there, so I helped a little."

"Do shitty situations like these happen in your world as well," Louis mumbles.

"Yeah, they do. Not as frequent, but they tend to be harder to treat and cure, because everything is -at least to a point- incurable with magic."

"Your uncle...?"

Harry nods and resumes to taking vitals off the machines Louis' mother was connected to.

"Does it mean that you could cure cancer?"

Harry chuckles and nods. "Technically, yes: practically, I'm only allowed to practice with magic in my world. So I wouldn't be able to cure your mother, or anyone from this world for that matter."

"Oh," Louis replies quietly. So nothing could help his mother, not even fucking magic.

"Don't be so sad. Your mum is gonna be fine. Believe me."

"I'll believe you when she has hair again and is healthy and happy back at home," the smaller man grumbles.

"Stop being so pissed. I get you're frustrated and all, but right now there is nothing you could do. So let it be, for gods sake," Louis grumbles.

"When will my mum wake up?" Louis changes the topic quickly. It's non of Harry's business how he feels and how he acts that out.

"She actually should sleep all day. She went to sleep right after lunch, so it's really been only two hours."

Louis nods solemnly. it's unfair that he can't spend time with his lovely mum now.

"I'm off in half an hour. If you want to, we can go back to my world a bit and you can explore, get your mind on a different track there," Harry proposes, and honestly it does not sound too bad to Louis right now.

"Ok, but I need to eat something as well."

"We can get something there, takeaway if you want to."

And, of course, Louis agrees. So here they are, an hour later, walking along the snowy sidewalk, eating fish'n'chips, not speaking a word.

"It's so weird that it's winter here," Louis mumbles after finishing his last chip. "I'm not dressed for this."

"Harry looks over to the man and slowly takes of his coat, placing it over Louis shoulders with a soft 'there you go'.  
Louis does question why the other man doesn't just use magic to get him a coat, but then, the coat is warm and soft and smells really good so he will not complain.

"it takes a while to get used to the seasonal differences, I gotta admit that. The first months after I stated at the hospital in your world I always came in summer clothing when it was deepest winter. Even the mentally ill people we had at that point looked at me like I was out of my mind," Harry chuckles and shakes his head.

Louis looks around and sees a church, small and white building with colourful windows standing between two tall trees, a low stone wall framing the property nicely.

"You believe in God," Louis wonders out loud, eyes locked on the church.

"Somewhat, yeah. You see, we have churches for all kinds of religions and believes that originate in your dimension. We, however, do have an original religion as well. Nothing fancy but still."

"So, do you believe in that god? Or....whatever you believe in?"

"Not really if I am honest. It#s kinda like Buddhism. The person we pray to in this dimension was the first wizard to enter this realm. He didn't have a name, but we call him Primus Advenit."

"That's Latin, isn't it?"

Harry nods gently. "Yeah, he didn't have a name until languages came along. Since there was no name to pray to, they called him 'the first who came'. Originally the expression was in German, but not many could pronounce a certain part so they changed it to Latin in the late 13th century."

"Wait, people have been here for more than 700 years?"

The two men walk, snow crunching softly under their feet. Harry leads the way, walking towards the part of town he lives in. "Yup, historic records show the first person was here around six thousand years ago. We have a cave, it's closed during winter, but there are drawings from back then on the walls. And ancient spells."

"That sounds cool. Humans have those caves in my world as well, hundreds," Louis mentions.

"I know."

The man walks up to a nice, red brick house, finished with hedges and a porch. "Let's get inside, I bet you're cold," Harry mumbles and unlocks the solid wooden door.

"pretty wood. Expensive?"

"Yeah.. For security. That's the only kind of material that cannot be destroyed with magic. Most doors are out of Bocote wood here and in other dimensions."

The two lads enter the cozy home, toeing off their shoes in the process. Harry snaps his fingers and two pairs of slippers appear in front of them. "The floors are rather cold," he mutters and slips them on, Louis following his actions.

The smaller man looks around the hallway. Some crystals and pictures are decorating the high shelves and walls, creating a welcoming atmosphere.

"Would you like some tea?"

minutes later the two men are sitting on the couch, sipping on their cups filled with hot tea. "This tea is just like at home," Louis mumbles against his cup.

"yeah, We have special teas as well, but I like the teas from your dimension better, so I stocked up on them," Harry smiles, looking at the other man. "Do you have any questions?"

"Tons," Louis hums before continuing, "but I'm not in the mood to ask them now. I just wanna enjoy my tea and see how you live here."

Harry chuckles and takes a sip. "Pretty much just like you, but when we are too lazy to get something from another room we just use magic and stay put."

"So you don't use magic to to something you don't like?"

"No, I try to force myself to do the things I dislike without magic. When I'm in your realm I cannot make use of it either, so might as well get used to how it is without. And besides that, I enjoy things like gardening and cleaning up. So it would be no fun for me to use magic to pull weeds or do the dishes."

"You probably are the only person I've met so far that genuinely enjoys cleaning."

Harry chuckles and nods. "Maybe. What do you like to do, then?"

"The usual, watching movies, concerts."

Harry looks at him. "Ok, those are things everyone enjoys, but what do you enjoy doing?"

"I told you," Louis mumbles, frustration increasing.

"You don't sound genuine when saying that. You don't have anything you really enjoy?"

"Uhm... not really. I guess I just go with the flow," he says and Harry nods along.

The two men then sit quietly -only the radio playing a soft tone in the room- sipping ontheir tea cups from time to time.

"Can I just....tell you something? Like, without you judging me or anything," Louis mutters gently after what seems like half a day of silence.

Harry nods a little, signalling Louis to continue.

"Like, I'm really fucking scared for my mother. I can't do anything to help her or sooth the pain he is going through, and it's driving me insane. Work is shit, my personal life is shit and everything is just shit at the moment," the man rambles, clenching his fingers around his cup.

Harry looks at him and stays quiet, nodding slightly. "You see, everything is meant to happen for a reason," he starts slowly, as if thinking about what to say next.  
"I don't know how it is when a parent goes through something like that, but I know that your soul and spirit are strong. You can get through this, just like your mother will."

"How would you know that, you know nothing," Louis snaps. The built up frustration coming to light.

Harry doesn't rely straight away, instead the man carefully takes the cup out of Louis' hands and places it on the coffee table.

"You think your fucking anecdotes about your dead uncle help but they don't. they make me fucking feel like I will tell that kind of stories about my mother when she dies," he rants, not fighting Harry at all when the latter gently wraps his arms around the furious man, running a hand trough his hair.

When Louis doesn't continue for another few minutes Harry clears his throat, arms still around the smaller man.  
"Feel better?"

Louis nods a tad, looking down onto his knees.  
"Good. That has been built up for a while, huh," the curly haired lad asks gently, Louis nodding again in reply.

"You know, I shouldn't be telling you this, but once a year I'm allowed to make a little wonder happen in your world," Harry starts, rubbing Louis' back. "It's not much, but it helps. This year, I made it my goal to save someones life."

"Great thanks. Start telling me about the child you're gonna save while my mother is dying," Louis scoffs. "You really don't know how to be empathetic with people."

"You should stop interrupting me all the time," Harry smiles softly. "It is a child, just a little older. I can't make the cancer go away, but I can make it 'vulnerable' so the medication she would receive would cure it," he continues.

"So..."

"I could heal your mother. But the thing is, it is hard to get approval for something like this. Don't get your hopes up yet, but I'm working on it."

"You promise to try," Louis asks quietly, rage gone and embarrassment and worry taking over.

"I do. Just let me handle it," Harry mumbles and keeps stroking Louis'back, the latter subconsciously snuggling into his side more.

"Ok," Louis mumbles. "I... I didn't want to be mean and insult your uncle.."

"It's alright Louis. I understand what you're going through takes a huge toll on you. I won't judge you. I will remember what you just told me, tough."

"So you're mad," Louis whispers.

"no," Harry shakes his head, "I'm not mad. But I want to remember it because it shows me how you feel about certain things. It gives me a little clue how to behave around you."

Louis nods and leans his head against the other man's shoulder again, sighing quietly.

"You seem tired, wanna take a nap or something," Harry asks concerned, relaxing a bit when Louis nods against his shoulder.

"I'll show you the guest room, Would you like something to sleep in as well or are the joggers alright?"

"Joggers're okay," Louis mumbles and slowly gets up from his comfortable position, stretching his limbs a little.

Harry gets up as well and walks towards the guest bedroom, leaving Louis to follow him. He opens the door and lets Louis enter first. "There you go."

the room itself wasn't spectacular. A bed with white sheets, a white rug on almost black floorboards and grey curtains and dressers to compliment the colours. Only the flowers on the nightstand are something unusual, a kind Louis has never seen before. He walks up to them and slightly smells them, humming contently when a soft yet strong scent hits his nose.

"Sleep well, should I wake you at some point or would you just like to sleep until you're done?"

"Just let me sleep I guess. Won't be long," Louis mumbles as he slips under the soft sheet.

Harry nods. "I'll be in the living room or in the kitchen downstairs." The taller man leaves the room and gently closes the door, leaving Louis alone to think.

Louis falls asleep rather quickly; not hard considering the bed is one of the most comfortable he's ever slept in.

He awakes hours later, the curtains still open but it's dark outside. Louis sighs, stretching his limbs and slowly gets up. He takes his phone from the nightstand.  
04:26AM

Louis grumbles and looks around. He's not sure what he could do now, with his phone's battery almost empty and nothing to entertain him. He quietly exits the room and tiptoes downstairs, looking into the empty living room. He sees a pink sticky note on the table and takes it.

"in my bedroom, first floor, first door right", it reads.

So without thinking Louis makes his way to the room, gently knocking before entering the pitch black room. In this very situation Louis curses the blackout curtains on the windows, but slowly shuffles his way through the room until his foot lightly comes in contact with a bed.

The man carefully feels around the soft bed, not wanting to grope the sleeping man if he accidentally touches him.

"What are you doing?"

Louis hands still at the quiet and tired voice from the bed.  
"Sorry," he whispers embarrassed. "Woke up and was bored..I'll go again."

"No, just stay," Harry mumbles and Louis can hear quiet shuffling in front of him, blushing further when Harry turns on the light on the nightstand, illuminating the two men.

Harry's hair is tousled, chest only partially covered by the white bed sheet. The man sits up further and gives Louis a tired smile. "Just lay down, rest a bit."

Louis blushes further and slides under the comforter, facing towards the other man. "This is awkward," he whispers.

"It's only awkward if you make it awkward," Harry replies gently, pulling the covers over his chest, probably trying to make Louis feel more comfortable.

"I'm in your bed. I'm a stranger."

"Oh, but are you though? We talked a few times, I'd rather we were acquaintances," Harry smiles lightly.

"I'm still really sorry about my..uhm... outburst yesterday."

"Louis, I said it's alright. I understand that you bottled everything up for a while and that this frustration needed to get out. I'm not mad, I'm kinda glad you blew up on me."

Louis nods and closes his eyes, sighing deeply before relaxing next to the taller man. Soon enough the two fall asleep again, curled up together under the blanket, bodies mirroring each other as if they were spooning, just with a little distance in between them.

Hours later, when the birds outside sing their best songs, harry awakes first. He is a little tired, having stayed up late and waking up early -even if the latter was only for a few minutes. He stretches his limbs and sighs, content with the warm comforter around him and Louis next to him.

The movement wakes up the smaller man, a yawn leaving his lips.

After a rather awkward getting up routine and bathroom break Louis walks downstairs to accompany Harry in the kitchen. The curly haired lad faces the stove, pans spreading a mouthwatering smell around the whole ground floor.

"I thought you can just use magic," Louis comments.

"i can," Harry hums, "But to be honest I enjoy cooking like a normal human being quite a lot. I like to think I'm pretty decent at it." The man takes the first pan off the stove top and places an old dishrag on the table, butting the hot pan on it. "Hope you like toast, omelette and beans."

Louis nods and a gentle smile creeps its way onto his lips. Sitting down, both men eat in a comfortable silence, only the scraping of silverware on the plates making noticeable noises in the room.

"I gotta admit, you are pretty decent at it," Louis mutters as he places his used platter and silverware in the sink. Harry hums a soft 'thanks' and looks at the other man again. "Do you want to go back to your world? I think your mum should be awake by now."

Louis nods a little and runs a hand through his hair. "Yeah, wanna spend some time with her."

\------

"Hello, mum," Louis smiles.  
The woman smiles, stretching her arms out to hug her son close. "Hello my Darling. How are you?"

"Same old, mum. And you?" Louis questions and sits down on the right side of the hospital bed, smiling gently.

"Same old. Harry has been sneaking me more pudding cups and I feel like i'm in heaven."

At the mention of this Louis' heart clenches painfully. He doesn't want his mother in heaven, he wants her here with him. Forever and always. He isn't married yet, he hasn't had his first child yet, his sisters haven't graduated high school yet. All of those things he wants to experience with his lovely mother by his side, not only with her in his heart.

He nods slowly, taking Johanna's hand in his. "And how are you feeling? Like... you know."

"Health wise? Like shit. Don't tell the girls and Ernie I said that. Everything hurts and I have no hair and can't go out without having to sit down all the time. It's hard, Lou," she tells him quietly, as if it was a secret that she was weak and sick.

"It's gonna be alright mum. I promise," he smiles, tears building up in his eyes. His mum always made him feel better, always was there for him and now when she needs the same, he can't take her pain away. It pains him that his mother, his probably best friend on earth was going through something like this and he couldn't do anything.

"I know. Darling. I have a feeling that everything's gonna be fine as well," Johanna smiles lightly.


End file.
